U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) plans to soon reintroduce his HEALTH Act (H.R. 7187 in the 116^th).

This bill would codify Medicare reimbursement for FQHCs and rural health clinics for telehealth services. The bill would permanently allow FQHCs/RHCs the ability to provide telehealth services under Medicare. A change from the earlier bill is that reimbursement, instead of being associated with the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, would be at the same level as if a Medicare beneficiary would receive the same services at a brick-and-mortar FQHC/RHC. The bill includes a provision to make permanent the waivers contained in the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, relating to originating site rules (waivers which are otherwise in effect for the public health emergency period), specific to services where the FQHC/RHC is the distant site provider.

Changes to the benefits and rules for unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic have been identified by many economists and employers as a reason for the substantial number of currently unfilled jobs throughout the nation while unemployment rates remain high. Pennsylvania is struggling with the same situation – continuing levels of high unemployment while there are a sizable number of available jobs – but that might soon start changing as the state’s work search requirement (suspended since March 2020) for those receiving jobless benefits is reinstated this week. Technically, because Unemployment Compensation (UC) claimants always file for benefits the week after they are unemployed, individuals will start certifying they looked for work beginning July 18 – but that doesn’t change that they need to start looking this week.

State officials late last week said job seekers can find help through the state’s PA CareerLink® website or their local PA CareerLink® office, with programs available to help with job search, training and resume assistance as well as provide adult education and other referral services. Additionally, the state Department of Human Services offers employment and training programs that support job seekers specifically within low-income populations.

Recognizing that collaboration is essential to achieving the Healthy People 2030 vision, the HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) has launched a new program, inviting public- and private-sector organizations that support Healthy People’s vision to become Healthy People 2030 Champions. Healthy People 2030 Champions are organizations committed to working toward Healthy People’s overarching goals and objectives. ODPHP will recognize Healthy People Champions on health.gov, and Champions will receive a digital badge to highlight their support of the Healthy People 2030 initiative on their own websites. They’ll also receive ongoing information, tools, and resources to help them promote Healthy People 2030 among their communities, partners, and others interested in achieving Healthy People 2030 goals.

If your agency is interested in becoming a Healthy People 2030 Champion, you can learn more at https://health.gov/news/202106/apply-become-healthy-people-2030-champion. ODPHP will also be hosting an informational webinar for organizations interested in becoming Healthy People Champions on July 28, 2021 at 1pm ET. You can register for the webinar here.

Thank you for your support of Healthy People 2030, and we look forward to working with you over the decade! Please stay tuned for forthcoming information on a Healthy People Coordinator kick-off virtual meeting. Tiffani Kigenyi (Tiffani.Kigenyi@hhs.gov) from ODPHP will serve as point of contact for these efforts. Please feel free to contact Tiffani with any questions.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced six programs, collectively called Investing in America’s Communities, that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) will execute to equitably invest the $3 billion it received from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

This EDA investment is the largest economic development initiative from the Department of Commerce in decades and will help communities across the country build back better.

Investing in America’s Communities includes:

• Build Back Better Regional Challenge ($1 billion) will capitalize on American ingenuity and American workers by providing a transformational investment to regions across the country to revitalize their economies.
• Good Jobs Challenge ($500 million) is designed to help get Americans back in good-paying jobs. The program will develop and strengthen regional workforce training systems and sector-based partnerships with a focus on programs targeted at women, people of color and historically underserved communities.
• Economic Adjustment Assistance ($500 million) grants will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through projects tailored to meet local needs.
• Indigenous Communities ($100 million) program will work hand-in-hand with Tribal Governments and Indigenous communities to develop and execute economic development projects they need to recover from the pandemic and build economies for the future.
• Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation ($750 million) program will focus on revitalizing the hard-hit travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries and accelerate the recovery of communities that rely on these sectors.
• Statewide Planning, Research and Networks ($90 million) grants include funding for state planning efforts as well as grants to build Communities of Practice to extend technical assistance to support EDA’s work with grantees.

As part of the six programs, EDA is making a Coal Communities Commitment, allocating $300 million to ensure support for these communities as they recover from the pandemic and create new jobs and opportunities, including through the creation or expansion of a new industry sector.

To learn more about EDA and our American Rescue Plan Funding Opportunities sign up for our webinar, EDA 101 and America Rescue Plan Overview, which will be held on July 27 and July 29.

For more information, visit www.eda.gov/ARPA for the latest news on EDA’s implementation plans. Sign up for the EDA newsletter and follow EDA on social media: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) launched a new HIV Challenge, which seeks innovative and effective approaches to increase the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and antiretroviral therapy (ART) among racial and ethnic minority individuals who are at increased risk for HIV or are people with HIV. The Challenge is a partnership with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) and is open to individuals and organizations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV, but an estimated 14 percent of them (1 in 7) do not know it and need testing. HIV can affect anyone regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, age, or where they live. However, HIV-related stigma is one of many reasons PrEp and ART prevention and treatments are underutilized.

The HIV Challenge provides an opportunity for on-the-ground voices to develop novel approaches to address HIV-related stigma in ways that can be successfully implemented within their local communities.

The HIV Challenge will have three phases, each of which will be evaluated separately. Prizes will be awarded for each of the three phases. Challenge participants will compete for cash prizes for the design of a concept, development of an approach, and small-scale testing of their approach.

To learn more about the HIV Challenge, visit: www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/HIVChallenge.

Para información en español, visite: www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/espanol/RetodelVIH.

Effort will help dispel fears that access will impact immigration status

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), issued an informational bulletin to states’ Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies reaffirming that the 2019 Public Charge Final Rule – “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds” – is no longer in effect and states should encourage their eligible immigrant populations to access public benefits related to health and housing.

Consistent with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) currently applicable 1999 guidance on public charge inadmissibility, accessing Medicaid benefits, for example, will usually have no bearing on anyone’s immigration status. Today’s informational bulletin to states emphasizes that the 2019 Rule is no longer in place and underscores DHS’s call to action enlisting federal partners to ensure eligible immigrants are informed of these changes and their right to access public benefits like Medicaid, if applicable.

DHS will no longer consider a person’s receipt of Medicaid (except Medicaid for long-term institutionalization) as a part of a public charge determination when deciding immigration status.

“As President Biden made clear in his executive order restoring faith in our legal immigration systems, we must reduce fear and confusion among immigrant communities who rely on critical benefits that are available to them by law,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We invite states and our community partners to spread this message far and wide: we are here to help and the public charge rule is no longer in effect. All our communities deserve the peace of mind that comes with having access to quality care.”

CMS is reaching out to states and encouraging them to work with local partners and community groups to provide this important information so that individuals needing health care coverage are not afraid to apply for coverage through Medicaid and CHIP. While the public charge rule was never applicable to CHIP, CMS recognizes that misinformation and fear of immigration retribution likely kept some eligible families from seeking this health coverage for their children.

It is critical that eligible immigrants and their families have access to necessary health care services, including those covered by Medicaid and CHIP, to keep their families safe and healthy.

“Health care is a right, not a privilege, and no one should be deterred from accessing the care they need out of fear. Accessing health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP will not risk immigration status,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making sure people have access to programs that keep them safe and healthy.”

The bulletin ensures that Medicaid and CHIP agencies have a clear understanding that the DHS regulation – “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule” – has been vacated and DHS is now following the 1999 Field Guidance on Public Charge, which is the policy in place prior to the 2019 Final Rule.

The 2019 Final Rule may have deterred immigrants from seeking for themselves and their families, including their children, critical government services that are legally available to them. The bulletin reminds states about their responsibilities to protect the rights of Medicaid applicants and their families.

States are prohibited from sharing a Medicaid applicant’s or beneficiary’s information for reasons outside of administering the state’s Medicaid plan, such as determining eligibility or providing services. States also have an obligation to keep applicant information safeguarded and protected, and they are generally prohibited from sharing applicant information with DHS.

To read a copy of the full Informational Bulletin, please visit: https://www.medicaid.gov/federalpolicy-guidance/downloads/cib072221.pdf.

Liz Carey at The Daily Yonder

For the past three years, I’ve written about rural healthcare issues for the Daily Yonder. From mental health issues to surprise billing to suicide, I’ve tried to tell the stories of rural health as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Now, for the first time, I am part of the story.

I recently had hip replacement surgery. It was the first of three total joint replacements that I have planned to have before the end of this year. I’m looking forward to it all being over, but getting there — let’s just say it has been eye-opening.

I’ve listened to a lot of stories about other’s experiences with the healthcare system. I thought they were the outliers. But now, as I’m in the middle of it, I realize those horror stories are more the norm than the exception.

Read more.

During July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) observes the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). First enacted on July 26, 1990, the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.

In the United States, 61 million adults have some type of disability, with the most prominent disabilities being mobility (serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs), followed by cognition (serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions). The prominence of disabilities can also vary based on factors such as ethnicity with 2 in 5 Non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives having a disability. Individuals with disabilities have also been shown to have an increased likelihood of poorer overall health and less access to adequate health care.

Individuals with disabilities are among CMS OMH’s priority populations and we are focused on ensuring that people with disabilities have access to quality health care services and information. The anniversary of the ADA offers us an opportunity to reaffirm this commitment and share resources that you can use to help empower those with disabilities.

Use these resources to learn more and share with your community. You can also visit the CMS OMH Health Observance page. After the anniversary ends, you can find resources on the CMS OMH page at https://go.cms.gov/omhdisabilities.

Resources

• View the We Can Do This Toolkit for People with Disabilities to help with COVID-19 vaccination!
• Share Getting the Care You Need: A Guide for People with Disabilities which includes resources and tools to help empower those with disabilities. The guide is also available in Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Braille.
• Watch our video, Navigating Health Care with a Disability: Our Stories, a Focus on People with Disabilities, to see testimonials from people with disabilities describe their experience accessing health care.
• View the Navigating Health Care with a Disability: Our Stories, a Focus on the Provider video to learn how health care organizations and providers can improve accessibility and care for people with disabilities.
• Download Improving Communication Access for Individuals who are Blind or have Low Vision and Improving Communication Access for Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. These resources describe how to assess practices, develop communication plans, and how to be prepared to implement accessible services for individuals who are blind, have low vision, deaf, or are hard of hearing.
• View the Modernizing Health Care to Improve Physical Accessibility: Resources Inventory, providing guidance on how to increase physical accessibility of medical services, tools to assess your practice or facility’s accessibility, and tips and training materials to support efforts to reduce barriers and improve quality of care for individuals with disabilities.
• Read our Issue Brief, Data to Improve Health Care for People with Disabilities, which outlines data sources that health care organizations and researchers can use to better understand the impact that social determinants of health have on people with disabilities.
• Find resources on Medicare-Medicaid from the Resources for Integrated Care website, including two recent webinars: Promoting Disability-Competent Care during COVID-19 and Supporting the Preventive Health Care Needs of Dually Eligible Women with Disability as well as additional information on Disability-Competent Care and the Disability Competent Care model.

Download and share Supporting the Preventive Health Care Needs of Dually Eligible Women with Disability, an RIC resource guide intended for providers, care managers, care coordinators, and other clinical staff at health plans and provider organizations who are interested in better meeting the preventive health care needs of dually eligible women with disabilities.

Systemic socioeconomic inequities like poverty, poor housing conditions, and lack of access to quality health care, lead to worse health outcomes among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States. Such factors also increase risk for the ability of racial and ethnic minority populations to anticipate, confront, repair, and recover from the effects of a disaster or public health emergency—these factors combine to form the concept known as social vulnerability.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the HHS Office of Minority Health developed the Minority Health Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to enhance existing resources to support the identification of racial and ethnic minority communities at the greatest risk for disproportionate impact and adverse outcomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minority Health SVI is an extension of the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, which is a platform that helps emergency response planners and public health officials identify, map, and plan support for communities that will most likely need support before, during, and after a public health emergency.

To learn more about social vulnerability and how the Minority Health SVI was developed, click here.

To access the Minority Health SVI, click here.